Encounters in the Camingo Region
by CalzoneCannon
Summary: This story follows our Hero, Kyō, in the Camingo Region. A series of islands not too far from the Hoenn Region.
1. Chapter 1

**Pokémon © 2002-2013 Pokémon. © 1995-2013 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. TM, ® and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo.**

No copyright or trademark infringement is intended in using Pokémon content in this story.

**Encounters in the Camingo Region**

"Kyō! Kyō wake up!" Kyō slowly opened his eyes to see his older sister, Azami, staring at him. "Happy 13th Birthday Kyō! You know what that means right?" Kyō was rubbing his eyes and mumbled "13th...eh...oh!"

Welcome to the Camingo Region! A series of islands not too far off from the Hoenn Region. Camingo is known as the "Mixing Bowl" of the Pokemon world, as it is where the top scientists and celebrities gather for large events. There is also a wide variety of Pokemon, from all regions of the world, that roam in this region.

In the Camingo Region, Pokemon Battling is the favourite pasttime. Many of the top battlers have trained in Camingo at some point on their Journey to be the best. The Camingo League Tournament is also the largest of all and even includes a three-round Preliminary set of matches just to get into the tournament.

The official age to receive one's first Pokemon was changed to 13 years old due to the large amounts of children getting lost on their journeys. Today we join our hero, Kyō, on his 13th birthday.

"Today's the day I finally get to choose my partner!" Kyō exclaimed as he jumped out of bed. "Once you get dressed, I will meet you downstairs so we can go get your Pokemon." Azami stated. Kyō nodded and motioned her to the door. She smiled and stepped out of the room.

Kyō changed into his signature outfit; A navy blue long sleeve shirt covered by a zip up red short sleeve jacket, a red beanie, and black pants. He has fairly light skin, medium length ash brown hair. He is 5'5" tall and around 110 lbs. Kyō is somewhat of a playful boy, but knows when it is the right time to make a joke.

Kyō walked down the stairs to see Azami watching a news program on TV. "Another bank has been robbed by the evil crime syndicate 'Team Valhalla'. These crooks, once again, used odd, dark Pokemon similar to those used by Evice of Cipher in the Orre Region." The news reporter nervously reported on the program. "That's the third bank this month..." Azami mumbled.

Azami turned and saw Kyō standing there "Oh, didn't see you there. Ready to go?" Kyō nodded and the two of them walked out the door. WHAM! They turned to see their friend Cal on the ground after tripping over a rcok. "Hey Cal! You on your way to get your partner too?" Cal and Kyō were born on the same day 13 years ago, and have been best friends ever since. "Ow, that smarts...Oh hey Kyō! Yeah I'm on my way, can I go with you guys?" Cal replied. "Of course" Azami answered, "the more the merrier!"

The three of them walked through the small town, Hajime Town, to the laboratory of Professor Sumac, a total travel time of only two minutes. Once they arrived Cal paused "This is the moment..." he said, "The moment I pick my partner, the one who will be there for me whenever I need them. I already know who I am going to pick, how about you Kyō?" Kyō stopped to think._ Of course I know. I decided the same day I saw that battle._ "I think so. I know I could never regret this decision even one bit." With that, the three walked inside.

* * *

*I know its a little short, but the rest of the chapters are much longer. Think of it as the tab on the first line of a paragraph, the other lines are longer than the first one.*

I hope you all liked the first chapter of my first fanfiction. I will be uploading all sprites of the characters in the story to photobucket and leaving a link after each chapter like so. Please leave constructive criticism, and I look forward to posting my next chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pokémon © 2002-2013 Pokémon. © 1995-2013 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. TM, ® and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo.**

No copyright or trademark infringement is intended in using Pokémon content in this story.

**Encounters in the Camingo Region**

The three of them stepped inside and were amazed. The lab was really high-tech with different machines where you looked. "Thanks for coming! Good luck on your journey!" they heard someone say in the other room, then a boy walked out. This boy looked as though he was irritated by something, even though he just got his first Pokemon. "What Pokemon did you choose?" Cal asked ever so impatiently. "What's it to you? It's not like you need to know." the boy retorted. "Fine, if you're going to be like that," Cal answered back, with a smirk on his face as if he just found the person he wants to beat in the future.

A man's head popped out from the doorway. "Ah, you three must be here for your new Pokemon, correct?" the man asked. "No, just these two," Azami replied as she put her hands on their heads. The man nodded and said "Well, my name is Professor Sumac, and I am the leading professor in Pokemon Abilities and Pokemon Moves. Since Camingo is the 'Mixing Bowl', we have Starter Pokemon from every region here." Professor Sumac motioned everyone to come inside. He pressed a button and a wall of Pokeballs rose out of the floor. There were 3 rows of 6 Pokeballs, each labeled with the name of the Pokemon and its type.

"I've already made my decision, Professor." Cal walked over and grabbed the Pokeball labeled 'Fire Pokemon - Torchic'. Cal threw the ball into the air and called out "Come on out, Torchic!" A flash of light filled the room and a tiny orange chicken was standing in front of Cal.

"Oh man! This is so cool!" Cal exclaimed. "Oh! Professor, I just realized we have not introduced ourselves. Sorry, my name is Calvin, but you can call me Cal." Azami stepped forward "My name is Azami." Kyō looked at the Professor and said in a stern voice "My name is Kyō, thank you so much for giving us our first Pokemon, it means a lot." Professir Sumac chuckled and replied "Wow, does that bring back memories. Another boy said the exact same thing to me 2 years ago."

"Go ahead and choose your Pokemon, Kyō, unless you need more time." Kyō took a deep breath said "Nope. I know exactly which one I want." He walked over to the wall and picked the Pokeball labeled 'Grass Pokemon - Bulbasaur'. "Bulbasaur huh? Not a very common choice, even in Kanto. It's great to see you choose that one." Professor Sumac said as Kyō sent out his new Pokemon.

Professor Sumac pulled two red devices our from his pockets and handed them to Kyō and Cal. "This is called a Pokedex. It's an encyclopedia that automatically records data on every Pokemon that you catch." He walked over to his desk and grabbed some Pokeballs. He handed them to the boys and said "You will want these on your journey to catch new Pokemon and increase the size of your team." The nodded and turned to head out. "Good luck on your journey!" Professor Sumac called to them.

Kyō and Cal walked over to Azami and the three of them headed out. "Azami, you're 14 and you haven't gone on a journey yet, why didn't you get a Starter Pokemon too?" Cal asked. Azami reached into her bad and pulled out a Pokeball. "I got this guy a month ago from our dad; I wanted to wait for Kyō before going on a journey." she explained. She tossed the ball into the air and out popped a brown creature with a skull on its head. "I saw a Cubone on a nursery channel a few months ago and thought it was just too cute. Our dad was on a business trip in Rock Tunnel in the Johto Region and managed to catch this one for me." Cal looked a little confused. "Why didn't you want a much stronger Starter Pokemon?" This angered Azami a little, "Why don't we have a battle if you think your Torchic is so tough?" she said. Cal nodded and sent out his Torchic. "Kyō think you can referee?" he asked. Kyō nodded and held his hand out. "Begin!" he called out."Cubone, Headbutt!" Azami ordered. "Uh, Torchic...dodge!" but it was too slow and Cubone's skull smashed into Torchic. "C'mon Torchic! You can do this, Scratch!" Cal shouted nervously. Torchic began to charge towards Cubone. "Wait for it...Now! Cubone, use Bone Club!" As Torchic got closer, Cubone raised its club and struck Torchic on the head with it.

"Torchic is unable to battle, Cubone is the winner!" Kyō announced. "Good job, Torchic. Return" Cal said to his unconscious partner, looking a little depressed.

"Now do you see why I picked Cubone? He's cute yet strong!" Azami said to Cal, "Don't feel discouraged, I'm more experienced is all." Cal looked up, but instead of looking sad, he had a smirk on his face. "Are you kidding? That rocked! I'll definitely beat you some day Azami!" He replied with excitement. She smiled and return her Cubone to its Pokeball. _Dang, those two really know what they are doing...But that won't stop me, I'll be a great Trainer soon enough. _Kyō thought.

"Okay," Azami broke the silence, "We should try to reach Chikyu city as fast as possible, but to do that we need to pass through Hakobu Town." She looked at her PokeGear and began pointing out the towns and cities with Pokemon Gyms. "Our goal right now is to beat each and every one of these gyms to qualify for the Pokemon League, alright?" Kyō and Cal nodded in agreement.

The three of them set off from their home town of Hajime towards Hakobu Town, but first they have to venture through the mysterious Kumo Forest.

* * *

Thanks for reading the second chapter of my story! The chapters are getting progressively longer, so don't worry about the length, please. I look forward to any and all constructive criticism! So please tell me what you think I can improve on, and what you would like to see!


	3. Chapter 3

Encounters in the Camingo Region

"Aw crap," Cal said as they approached the entrance to Kumo Forest. "Oh, that's right, I forgot Kumo forest was here. Sorry, guys," Azami said.

The group entered the forest to find numerous Pokemon filling up the forest. "Wow! So many Pokemon!" Kyō exclaimed. "I have to catch one!" Cal added. Kyō and Cal charged off leaving Azami just standing there. "Meet up at the end of the forest in one hour!" She yelled to them.

Azami looked around at the crowd of wild Pokemon staring her down. "Come on out Cubone!" Azami called as she tossed her Pokeball into the air, "We're going to get some training done, okay Cubone?" Cubone nodded.

After about 10 minutes, the two of them had defeated numerous loads of wild Caterpie, Weedle, Metapod, and Nidoran. Suddenly, a horde of Mankey came charging in. Azami noticed that one of the Mankey was a light shade of green rather than the grayish colour that Mankey typically have. The green Mankey motioned to the others as if ordering them to commence their attack on Azami and Cubone.

"That one must be the leader of the pack, maybe it'll put up a good fight," she said. Cubone took down all the other Mankey with just one Bone Club each. The green Mankey grabbed Cubone's bone as Cubone used Bone Club, then used Low Kick to knock Cubone off its feet. "Just as I thought," Azami mumbled to herself. "Cubone, use Headbutt!" Cubone darted forward and launched itself at the Mankey, although it shifted to the side. "Bone Club!" Azami called out and Cubone swung its club mid-air to land a direct hit on Mankey. Mankey was launched threw the air by the Bone Club and collided with a tree, causing it to fall unconcious.

"Let's go, Pokeball!" Azami joyfully shouted as she tossed a Pokeball at the unconcious Pokemon. Mankey went inside the ball and it shook vigorously. After a few seconds, the Pokeball stopped moving and made the signature "click" to signify that the Pokemon was caught.

Meanwhile, Cal was racing through the forest and saw multiple Pokemon, but the same thought kept reoccuring. _No, that one isn't strong enough. _Although, he stopped when he noticed something a little peculiar. Cal saw a tiny bug electrocuting multiple Pokemon around it.

_Joltik, eh? It may be tiny, but that thing packs a punch! _he thought. "You're mine, Joltik!" Cal grabbed a Pokeball off his belt and tossed it into the air, "Let's go, Torchic! Use Peck!" he called. Torchic charged toward the Joltik, but the tiny bug jumped onto Torchic's head and used Fury Cutter. "Shake it off, Torchic! Then use Peck!" Cal called out nervously.

Torchic shook off Joltik and hit it mid-air with Peck, but Joltik managed to recover and land on its feet. "All right, one more Peck!" As Torchic readied itself for another Peck, it sneezed and many tiny flames flew through the air and hit Joltik. "Aw sweet, a new move!" Cal exclaimed, "Torchic, use Ember!" Torchic sent more little flames towards Joltik, knocking it out. "Go, Pokeball" Cal exclaimed as he pitched the ball at the mini Pokemon. Joltik went inside the Pokeball, but didn't put up a long fight before the capture was complete.

"I did it!" He celebrated, "I caught a new Pokemon! I bet Kyō hasn't even caught one yet." Cal began walking on a nearby path, where he saw Kyō waiting silently. "Yo, Kyō! I just caught myself a new Pokemon! How about you?" Kyō shook his head, "No, but my Bulbasaur learned Vine Whip and was able to knock out tons of wild Pokemon" he responded.

"Vine Whip huh? That's a pretty strong move." Azami added as she walked up to the two of them. "We are almost out of this forest, it should only be about a 15 minute walk from here." she included. Cal hung his head, "Another 15 minutes? Man, this forest takes forever to get out of." he complained. Azami put her hand on his head, "Don't worry, Hakobu Town is just five minutes away from the edge of this forest. We can rest in the Pokemon Center as soon as we get there."

"Fine. Oh by the way, I want to battle you tomorrow morning Azami." Cal said sternly. "Oh, sure. By the way, have you caught another Pokemon?" she asked. Cal grinned and said "Of course! Why?" Azami held up two Pokeballs, "Because, I want to try having a double battle instead. Is that okay with you?" She answered. Cal nodded and grabbed the two Pokeballs off of his belt. "How about we have the battle right now? My Pokemon aren't that weakened. A few potions should put them in fighting shape." he proposed. "Sure," Azami took the two Pokeballs off of her belt and tossed them up, "Let's go, Cubone and Mankey!"

After Cal spent some time healing his Pokemon, he took a look at Azami's Mankey. "What's with that Mankey? Is it sick or something? It's all green." he asked. "I'm not too sure really..." she replied. Kyō stepped forward, "Actually, I saw a TV program on this, where some Pokemon are naturally born with different pigmentation. Although it's supposed to be a very rare occurence." he said. "Wow, that's not fair." Cal pouted, which caused Azami to let out a laugh.

"All right! I am done healing up. Let's get this battle on! Go, Torchic and Joltik!" Cal called out. Azami smiled and said "I hope you realize that my Cubone has a type advantage against both of your Pokemon with it being a Ground-type." Cal grinned and said "Don't count me out! I'll show you what my Pokemon can do!" he retorted. "Torchic, use Peck on Mankey! Joltik, use String Shot on Cubone!" Cal ordered.

"Cubone, spin your bone to block it! Mankey, side-step and use Low-Kick!" Azami ordered in retaliation. Cubone spun it's bone and reduce the String Shot to nothing, while Mankey used Low-Kick to sweep Torchic off its feet. Cal clenched his teeth, "All right! Torchic use Ember on Mankey, while you use String Shot on Mankey, Joltik!" Torchic sneezed out its flames towards Mankey, while Joltik fired its string. "Mankey, charge down the middle and use Fury Swipes on Joltik! Cubone, use Bone Club on Torchic!" Azami nervously called out.

Mankey ran in between the Ember flames and String Shot, but the crackles of the flames burned Mankey's arm, causing it to flinch and get caught in the String Shot. Cubone charged at Torchic, and before Cal could tell it to dodge, Cubone had already struck Torchic with Bone Club. "C'mon, Torchic! You've got to get up! Joltik, use Fury Cutter on Mankey!" Cal called. _Why is that Cubone so fast? _he thought, _Surely that skull and bone should slow it down! _"Mankey, work on getting out of that string! Cubone, use Bone Club on Joltik while protecting Mankey!" Azami shouted.

"Torchic, use Ember on Cubone!" Cubone charged in front of Mankey and prepared to use Bone Club, but was hit by Ember. As Cubone was hit, Joltik had snuck up behind Mankey. "Now! Joltik, use Fury Cutter!" Joltik attacked Mankey, knocking it out. "Not bad, but your Torchic can't take another hit, and your Joltik is nowhere near strong enough to defeat my Cubone!" Azami taunted. "I told you, don't count me out!" he retorted, although he looked completely nervous.

"Torchic, use Peck! Joltik, use String Shot!" Cal called out. "Cubone, use your bone to throw Torchic back!" Azami called out in a very confident voice. Cubone launched Torchic back and Torchic was tied up by Joltik's String Shot. "Cubone, use Bone Club to knock Torchic into Joltik!" Cubone batted Torchic into the air. "Joltik, Torchic, return!" Cal recalled his Pokemon back to their Pokeballs. "Fine...you win, again." Cal muttered. "Cal, you keep losing focus and getting nervous during your battles." Azami told to Cal, "If you can't keep your focus, You won't be able to beat anyone." When Kyō heard that, he walked up to Cal and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"She's right you know. I've seen plenty of professional battles, and if either person gets discourage in a match, they usually end up losing." he said. Cal looked at Kyō and got an idea. "Kyō, tomorrow let's gave a battle. My Torchic versus your Bulbasaur. How about it?" Cal asked. Kyō knew that Cal just wanted to prove him wrong, "You're on. First thing tomorrow morning." Kyō replied. They both nodded and ran to catch up to Azami who decided to walk onwards towards Hakobu Town.

_Azami and Cal are both strong battlers, but clearly neither of them know nearly as much as I do. That's all thanks to him. _Kyō thought to himself. "So Kyō, do you really think your Grass-type Bulbasaur is going to be able to beat my Fire-type Torchic?" Cal asked tauntingly. "Of course," Kyō replied, "Type effectiveness is not the only thing that decides a battle. It takes heart and courage." At that moment, the group reached a sign on the side of the road that said 'Welcome to Hakobu Town'.


	4. Chapter 4

Encounters in the Camingo Region

"Out of my way!" A man shouted as he ran out of Hakobu Town and threw Kyō to the side. "Hey-!" Cal began to say but the man jumped in the air and landed on what appeared to be a purple Pidgeot. "Jeez, what's his problem?" Kyō said as he was rubbing his head, then he noticed Azami clenching her teeth. "That man...", she muttered, "That man is from Team Valhalla!" Kyō and Cal both seemed pretty shocked by this.

"How do you know?" Cal asked. "That Viking suit is the signature uniform of Team Valhalla. Plus, he had a Shadow Pidgeot!" she answered. "Shadow?" Cal asked, confusedly. "Shadow Pokemon are Pokemon that have had their hearts sealed up and are given artificial strength." Kyōtold him. "Because of those freaks, we haven't seen our Dad in a month, they've kidnapped numerous scientists and field researchers arounf the world, all while robbing banks to fund their 'project'" Azami commented quite angrily, "Right now, my goal is to stop these crooks and get our Dad back, but to do so I need to get much stronger." Cal pumped his fist into the air, "All right! Well, we aren't going to get any stronger if we just wait out here. Let's head to the Pokemon Center and rest up." he said. "Sounds good to me" Kyō said. The three of them walked into town and headed for the Pokemon Center.

When they got to the Pokemon Center, they all handed their Pokemon to Nurse Joy, then headed to bed. _Team Valhalla..._ Kyō thought, _We're gonna take them down. No doubt about it._

"Psst, Kyō," Cal whispered. "Yeah Cal, what's up?" Kyō replied. Cal showed his fist, "I'm gonna help you guys defeat Team Valhalla and get your Dad back." Cal said. "Thanks, but where is this coming from?" Kyō asked in reply. "My goal is to be the best trainer ever, but I can't do that without my best friends. I figure as your friend, I should help you out in any way that I can" he explained. Kyō smiled "Thanks man, that means a lot to me."

The next morning Kyō was awoken by some violent shaking. "Kyō! Wake up!" Cal yelled as he was shaking Kyō. "Wah-ah-aht is-s it-t?" Kyō stuttered. "Remember?" Cal replied, "Our battle, first thing in the morning!" Kyō got out of his bed and put on his beanie and jacket. "Okay, let's do this." he said.

The two of them walked out of their room and dropped by Nurse Joy's desk to pick up their Pokemon. "Thanks, Nurse Joy." Kyō said as he picked up his Pokeball. "No problem boys, good luck on your journeys!" she replied to him. Cal held up his Pokeball to Kyō's face, "I don't see how you can possibly think your Grass-type could stand any chance against my Fire-type. Torchic is like twice as fast as your Bulbasaur!" Cal exclaimed. Kyō smirked and walked out the door. _What is he thinking? _Cal thought. They walked out the back of the Pokemon Center to the battlefield and each grabbed their Pokeballs off their belts.

"Here we go, c'mon out, Bulbasaur!" Kyō shouted as he tossed his Pokeball. "Let's go, Torchic!" Cal sent out his Pokemon as well. "I'll let you start," Kyō said as he bowed his head. "Big mistake! Torchic, use Ember!" Cal shouted. Torchic spat a bunch of fiery sparks towards Bulbasaur. Kyō began to laugh, "And here is where I prove you wrong! Use Vine Whip, Bulbasaur!" he ordered. Two long vines shot out from Bulbasaur's bulb and began rapidly whipping at the Ember, dispersing the particles and nullifying the move. The two vines then moved towards Torchic; one hit one side of its legs while the other hit Torchic's face on the opposite side, knocking it to the ground.

"I-Impossible!" Cal shouted. _Now's my chance! _Kyō thought. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip and follow up with a Tackle!" Kyō called out. Bulbasaur's vines shot out and wrapped around Torchic, suspending it in the air while Bulbasaur threw itself into Torchic. Torchic fainted. "H-how could this happen?" Cal said as he fell to his knees, "Torchic, return." Kyō walked over and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's as Azami said, you get discourage and lose your focus. That Vine Whip surprised you didn't it?" Kyō said, staring straight into Cal's eyes. "Yeah, it did. I figured a Fire-type move should easily have disintegrated a Grass-type move." he responded.

"Nope. It's not the type of move that matters, it's how you decide to use it." Kyō said. Cal sat down and began to think. "Even in cases where the move doesn't affect the opponent?" he asked. Kyō smiled, "It may not be able to affect the opponent directly, but it can affect the surroundings."

Cal stood up and looked Kyō back in the eyes, "Someday I will beat both you and Azami. I want to be the best trainer ever! Even better than Red!" he exclaimed. "Haha, good luck with that," Kyō chuckled, "Nobody has beaten Red since he has become champion!" Cal smiled and said, "I guess you're right. It would take a miracle to even get the chance to battle Red." They both sat their laughing when Azami stepped outside.

"I see the battle went well. Kyō won I'm guessing?" she said. Cal stood up, surprised, "Yeah...but how did you know?" he asked. "The battle was obviously to teach you a lesson, but would that have worked if he lost?" she asked in response. Cal scratched his head, "You know, that _does _make sense."

"Well, now that the battle is over, let's go take a look around!" Azami exclaimed. The guys nodded and the three walked into town. While in town, they visited a few stores to stock food for their trip and bought some medicine. After shopping for awhile, they decided to sit on a bench by the fountain at the center of town. "We should be good on food and medicine for the next week or so, so that's fine," Azami said, "Do we need anything else?" The boys looked at each other and shrugged "Not really" Kyō answered.

Cal was looking around and noticed a poster on the side of a building behind Azami. "What's that?" he asked as he pointed to the poster. "Seventeenth Annual Chikyu City Amateur Battle Tournament" Kyō read aloud, "Says here that its only a week from today." Cal did a fist pump and shouted "All right! We are totally entering that tournament!" Kyō and Azami smiled, then nodded in agreement.

Kyō looked back at the poster, "The rules are that battles are 3 on 3 and substitutions are prohibited." Kyō took his Pokeball off his belt, "Looks like I need to catch some more Pokemon.

Azami looked at the sky and noticed that it was getting dark, "I say tomorrow we should start heading to Chikyu City, it's getting late so we should head in for the night." Kyō nodded "Sure, but first thing tomorrow I want to try and get some information on Chikyu's Gym Leader."

With that, the group headed back to the Pokemon Center to rest up and prepare to leave for Chikyu City in the morning.


	5. Chapter 5

Encounters in the Camingo Region

The next morning, Kyō woke up a few hours early. _Well, I doubt I can go back to sleep now. Maybe I should go train for a little bit. _Kyō thought. He grabbed a slip of paper from the night stand and wrote Cal a note which said 'Cal, I'll be in Kumo Forest for a bit. I'll be back in an hour or so. - Kyō'. He stuck it to Cal's face, got dressed, grabbed his back, then walked out of the room.

As Kyō was walking through town, he noticed a few officers patrolling around town, so he decided to find out what was going on. "Excuse me", Kyō said as he approached one of the officers, "Why are there so many officers around this early?"

"Look, kid, I don't have time for your questions. We don't know if Team Valhalla could be in town or not." The officer replied in a stern, rough voice. _That's right_, Kyō thought, _We ran into a Team Valhalla member when we first got to town. What could they want in such a small town?_

Kyō shook his head and headed out of town towards the forest. _I wonder what Pokemon I should catch. I still haven't found out what type the Chikyu City gym specializes in, _Kyō wondered.

He walked along the path until he reached the entrance of Kumo Forest. He noticed many insect Pokemon playing in the trees. Kyō took a few steps into the forest when some poison needles shot at him from behind a bush. "Looks like we have a challenger", Kyō said with a grin.

Kyō grabbed his Pokeball off his belt and tossed it in the air, "Let's go, Bulbasaur!" His small bulbed friend appeared from the light that emerged from the Pokeball.

"Today I want to work on the speed of your Vine Whip. That way we can turn our offense into an exceptional defense", he said to Bulbasaur. The Weedle that attacked them crawled out from the bush. It arched its back and used Poison Sting. "All right, Vine Whip!" Kyō called out.

Bulbasaur released two long vines from under its bulb and began deflecting the Poison Sting, but missed near half of them. Bulbasaur stumbled, but regained its footing. "It's all right, don't worry, Bulbasaur. I know you can do this." Kyō said to his pal. Weedle readied itself and used Poison Sting. "Again, Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur began deflecting the Poison Sting again, this time only missing a few shots. "Nice job, Bulbasaur!" Kyō cheered his Pokemon on. "Good thing you are immune to the Poison Status, or this could've been much more dangerous."

Weedle began readying its next attack, when all of a sudden, a threatening roar bellowed throughout the forest. The roar was so terrifying that it caused Weedle to flee in fear. _What the crap was that?! _Kyō thought in fear. He started to run towards the area that the sound originated. As he was running, he noticed the trees falling in front of him, causing loud crashes. Kyō kept running and came to a clearing with a large machine and a man inside operating it. This machine was uprooting all of the trees around it. "Which tree is it under?! Damnit, I always get the most annoying jobs!" The man shouted as he continued forcing the trees out of the ground.

Kyō jumped into the middle of the clearing, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he shouted to the man. The man shifted his gaze to Kyō and seemed to get even angrier. "Get out of my way, you brat!" The man used one of the arms on his machine to pick up Kyō and toss him back into the forest. _Oh no you don't! I'm gonna keep you from destroying anymore of this forest!_

Kyō hopped to his feet and ran back towards the clearing, "Go, Bulbasaur! Use Vine Whip!" He tossed his Pokeball near the machine and Bulbasaur popped out. Bulbasaur's vines shot out from under its bulb and latched onto the machine's arms, preventing it from attacking.

"Fine, if you want to play like that", the man shut the machine down and jumped out. Kyō's eyes widened and he gasped, "You...You're one of them!" he shouted at the man, as his Viking uniform was revealed. The man snickered, "So, I see you've heard of Team Valhalla. Good!" He grabbed his Viking helmet from the machine and put it on. "I am one of Valhalla's Executives, Lars, and my job here is to discover the Celestial Ruins. We have a special objective for it."

Kyō clenched his fists, "I don't care what your job is! I am going to take you down!" Kyō angrily shouted. "Bulbasaur, Tackle!" Bulbasaur charged at Lars, who easily stepped out of the way. Lars grabbed a Pokeball off his belt and tossed it in the air. "Show this brat who's boss, Charizard!" The ball opened and Charizard came out, altough it looked different from a regular Charizard. "W-what is what thing?" Kyō asked, frightened. Lars chuckled, "Why this here...is Shadow Charizard." Kyō gritted his teeth, "And what exactly does that mean?!" he angrily asked. "Shadow Pokemon have had their heart closed, allowing their strength to be boosted beyond its natural limit", Lars replied. "You monster...Bulbasaur, Tackle!" Kyō ordered.

Lars sat down on the ground, "How can this get any more boring? Charizard, swat it away." Bulbasaur charged towards Charizard, who simply punches Bulbasaur into the ground. "Use Flamethrower", Lars ordered. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip!" Kyō desperately shouted, although it was no use. Bulbasaur was swallowed up by the flames and fell unconcious. "Bulbasaur, No!" Kyō cried as Lars laughed.

"All right, you've had enough fun. Tyranitar, Rock Slide!" a voice called out from the forest. A large bunch of rocks flew out of nowhere and pummeled Charizard. "Who's there? Show yourself!" Lars shouted, irritated. A woman covered by a white cloak emerged from the forest, with her face hidden by her hood. "I suggest you leave this boy alone, unless you wish to answer to my Tyranitar." she said to Lars.

"Whatever", Lars groaned, "I'm done here anyway. This forest has nothing interesting anyway." He jumped back into his machine and pressed a button. The machine then transformed into a Helicopter and flew off. Kyō turned to the girl who had just saved him. "Thanks a lot, uh..." he started. "My name is not important, but for now you can call me V. You should be much more careful going off alone like this, because you will come into contact with much more of those men now." she said to Kyō.

"Stay out of trouble, kid", she said as she grabbed one of her Pokeballs. "Dragonite, use Fly." she ordered as she tossed the ball into the air. A large, orange dragon appeared and V hopped on its back. Dragonite then took off at a high speed into the sky.

Kyō looked at Bulbasaur's Pokeball, "I guess we better head back now. The others might be worried." he said.

Upon returning to Hakobu Town, Kyō noticed Azami and began walking to her. As Kyō approached his sister, he saw Cal in a battle with another boy who was using a Charmander against Cal's Torchic. This boy had medium-length, wavy, brown hair; light skin; and was a little taller than Kyō. He was wearing a long sleeve, red and white shirt and dark grey jeans.

"Charmander, Scratch! Let's go!" the boy called out. "Torchic, intercept it with Peck!" Cal called in retaliation. Torchic dodged Charmander's Scratch attack and pecked it in the face. Charmander was knocked out.

Kyō walked up to Azami, "I wish I could've seen the whole battle", he said. Azami jumped at the sound of her bother's voice, "Oh, you're back! Yeah, it was a perfect match for Cal. Those two had a really similar style", she said. Cal walked over to Azami and Kyō, bringing his opponent along with him.

"Hey guys!" Cal said, waving to his friends, "This is Mayson, I met him here at the fountain." Kyō nodded at Mayson as a greeting. "He was sitting with his Charmander, so I decided to ask for a battle. I figured that another Fire-type starter would be a good match for Torchic."

Azami looked at Mayson, "So, were you waiting for someone?" she asked. Mayson scratched his head, "Actually, we were strategizing for our battle against the Chikyu City Gym Leader" he replied. This caught Kyō's attention, "What do you know about the gym leader?" he asked. Mayson pulled a notepad out of his pocket and began reading, "From what I've gathered...His name is Terrance, and he specializes in Ground-type Pokemon" he said.

Cal looked at Mayson, curiously, and asked, "What were you planning to do with Charmander?" Mayson chuckled, "Well, obviously I'm going to catch some other Pokemon. Plus, I already have a Gastly, which is unaffected by Ground-type moves." he said. Kyō smiled, "You might not want to depend on that strategy, pal. Just because the moves themselves won't hit you, doesn't mean they won't have another strategy. I'm sure they have planned accordingly for Flying-type and Levitating Pokemon." he told Mayson.

Mayson looked at Kyō, "You really seem to know your stuff," he said, "How many badges do you have?" Kyō made an 'O' shape with his hand and laughed. "Wow, I doubt you'll have any trouble against the gym leaders." Mayson said.

Kyō smiled and said, "I sure hope you're right, Mayson." Azami clapped her hands once to get their attention, "All right, guys! I think it's time we start to Chikyu City. Do you want to come along with us, Mayson?" she asked. Mayson nodded, "Yeah, but only this time. I have some business to take care of in Chikyu."

With that, the group began to head out of Hakobu town. Azami was looking at her map, "Fortunately, there are no forests, but the path is long and winding, so it will take about a day or two to get there." she said. Cal groaned, "It's going to take that long? I want to battle the Leader now..." he complained. "Would you rather charge into defeat, or fortify your army? Azami asked Cal. He scratched his head in confusion, "The crap does that mean" he asked. She giggled, "It was something our dad once said to our older brother when he wanted to challenge a gym for the first time." she replied, "It essentially is asking if you would rather go in unprepared and most likely lose, or wait and train your Pokemon a little more to increase your chances of winning."

Mayson jumped in and said, "Well, I'd actually want to battle the Leader first and try to understand his strategy, then train my Pokemon to counter said strategy. " Azami shrugged, "It all comes down to preference, I guess." she said.

Kyō caught some of their conversation, but was too busy looking at all the wild Pokemon to listen. Memories flowed through Kyō's head as he thought about the trips that he and Azami went on with their father. Kyō remembered the time his father took him to see the World Championship Tournament, the same day he decided to try and be the World's best trainer.

Kyō's thoughts were interrupted by the immediate shaking of the ground beneath him. "W-what is that?!" Azami shouted. Just a few feet from Mayson, a large mass came hurling out of the ground. "S-Steelix!" Mayson shouted as they all stumbled backwards. Cal stepped forward, "Go, Torchic! Joltik!" he shouted as he tossed two Pokeballs into the air. Steelix looked at the tiny Pokemon before it and swatted them away with its tail. "Torchic! Joltik!" Cal cried as he ran to his Pokemon.

Mayson, Kyō, and Azami sent out their Pokemon, but Steelix knocked them all out with a single Iron Tail. Gastly used its ghostly abilities to phase through the tail, but was shot down by Steelix's Iron Head. Everyone was knelt down beside their unconcious Pokemon, bracing themselves for the next impact.

At that moment, a teenage boy jumped in front and tossed a Pokeball in the air, "Flareon, Fire Fang!" he shouted. An orange fox-like Pokemon appeared out of the Pokeball and attacked the Steelix, causing it to flee in pain. The boy turned to the group. He had spiky, black hair; purple eyes; slightly tanned skin; and was wearing a Pokemon Ranger's Uniform.

"You guys sure are lucky I was patrolling the area, or you would have been toast." the boy said. "Thank you so much," Cal said, "That's one impressive Flareon you've got there!"

The boy returned Flareon to its Pokeball, looked at it, and smiled. "Yeah, it was my first Pokemon." He put the Pokeball away and began to look around, "Looks like the area is safe for now. You better watch out though, because something has been making the Ground-type Pokemon in the area go crazy." Azami scratched her head, "Only Ground-type Pokemon?" she asked. The boy nodded, "Yeah, we haven't been able to make any sense of it either," he replied.

"We?" Kyō asked. The boy pointed to the crest on his arm. "The Pokemon Ranger Corps, or the PRC for short." he answered, "My name is Jin, and I am an officer in the PRC." One by one, the group introduced themselves. They also mentioned how there we each taking on the Pokemon League challenge. Jin smiled, "Even though I am a Pokemon Ranger, I too am taking on the Pokemon League. In fact, I made it to the Semi-finals last year." he said. Cal gasped at this, "No way! I would've thought you'd won the whole thing based on how strong your Flareon is!" he exclaimed. Jin shrugged, "There are some strong Trainers out there. They are training every single day for tournaments like that."

Kyō stepped in between them all, "Well, it was nice talking to you, Jin, but we should be on our way if we want to get to Chikyu City by morning." he said. Jin nodded and they parted ways. As they were walking, Kyō noticed that Azami seemed troubled. "What's wrong, Azami?" he whispered. She looked at her brother, "The fact that only Ground-type Pokemon are acting weird. Do you think it could be Team Valhalla?" she responded. Kyō shrugged, "It doesn't really seem like something they would do, but you never know."

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but we should really keep an eye out." she said. Kyō nodded, thinking back to the encounter he had with Lars. _What could he have been looking for that was so important that he had to destroy the forest?_ he thought. Kyō shook his head, trying to shake the thoughts of Team Valhalla.

After about an hour of walking, the sky was a deep shade of dark blue. "I think we should set upcamp for the night. What about you?" Mayson proposed. The others agreed and began setting up. Mayson had his Charmander light a fire for them. Azami pulled a metal pot and some food out of her backpack. Kyō took the metal pot and filled it with some water from a bottle and Azami began to cook.

After a nice meal, Cal stomped out the fire. He and Mayson were quick to fall asleep after that, while Azami and Kyō were left staring at the night sky. "This reminds me of the time Dad took us to Fortree City in Hoenn. When we laid on top of the treehouses and watched the stars." Azami whispered, breaking the silence. Kyō chuckled, "Wasn't that the time that you got attacked by that Taillow?" Azami's face turned red, "Shut up! I was only 11 and didn't want it to take my candy bar!" They both started laughing as they talked about their trips to other regions. Kyō ended the laughter, "I will get Dad back, no matter what" he said. "We will get him back" she corrected him. Azami yawned, "All right, well I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Kyō." But he was already asleep. She smiled, then drifted into a deep sleep.


End file.
